House of Questions - Page 2

Which film manufacturers do you recommend?

Rootness: "We use Avery Dennison, as well as HuperOptik, which is a higher-end product mainly for the ceramic patent they have around their films. For these products, there's some very good light- and heat-reduction numbers there with less interior reflections."

"You can obtain different 'darknesses' beyond the light transmission standard gray. It's much like an optically clear pair of glasses, or like a clear UV shield, and then it gets darker from there, just like sunglasses do."

Maldonado: "At Maldonado Bros., we use two top products, Llumar Vista and Avery Dennison. And even though today's films are much more stable than in the past, they can still fade, particularly if you buy an off-brand film."

"The purple-color dyes of old weren't as stable as the metallized or ceramic films that are used today, or the spectrally-selected films by 3M and Llumar Vista."

What about installation costs and warranties?

Rootness: "If you're in the market for window film, you can be looking at $10-16 per square foot, depending on the scope of the job, and the type of film used."

"A realistic warranty is non-transferable. Standard residential solar control UV film easily lasts 25-30 years, and some of the safety-security films, which are thicker, actually have solar-control properties at 99 percent and offer close to a 15-year warranty."

Maldonado: "Our estimates are based on costs per square foot and depend on the type of film. They can run $7.50-15 per square foot. Most of the top brands offer a lifetime product warranty, and are still performing great after 20 years."